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Monday, March 12, 2012

Size doesn't always matter...

A fine new resource has recently been published, How to Find Your Family History in Newspapers, by Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems. In it, she reminds us of how many different ways the names of our ancestors might appear in the news, no matter how unlikely. An example appeared for my ancestor, Nathan Graves of Westmoreland, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. The Norwich Courier, published in Norwich, CT, printed the following article on 31 October, 1804, page 3: "Several apple trees belonging to Mr. Nathan Graves, of Westmoreland, were on the 19th of August last, scorched by fire, so that the apples were roasted on the trees; and within about four weeks after the same trees were discovered in as full bloom as in spring." The same article was published in The Democrat, in Boston, 10 days later. Now, this tiny article isn't going to tell me a great deal about Nathan's forebears or descendants, or anything about his position in the community. It does, however, indicate that he had enough resources to have his own apple trees. It also illustrates what his neighbors read about him over 200 years ago, and how remarkable the sight of apple blossoms must have been at the end of a New Hampshire September!

About Me

Jfproots@gmail.com. I've been conducting genealogical research since 1980. This has involved on-site visits to 23 states and a large number of major and minor archives. Please e-mail questions or comments.